Bad Moon Rising
by Scarlet-MagicianX26
Summary: Supernatural threats roam the world again with the appearance of the Abyssals, forcing humanity to push their old warriors to fight on new fronts... Post-Hellsing Canon.
1. Chapter 1 - Roma

**A/N - 01/08/2016**

 **This is what I have been working on the past few months, while I took a break from Abyssal Collection, which was tiring me out like mad. This isn't going to update as frequently as AC, which still remains my pride and joy, flawed as it may be. That said, enjoy!**

 **-MagicianX26**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - Roma**

* * *

In the dead of night, a moon rose high above an italian town, its inhabitants sleeping peacefully.

Save for a small manor located on the outskirts of the town, where it was anything but peaceful.

The front door stood ajar, and if one entered it, he could see signs of carnage all over the place - bloodstains splattered over the walls, eviscerated corpses lying on the floor, broken furniture scattered everywhere, with the odd ghoul roaming the floors mindlessly

In the dining hall, the main cause of the carnage sat in a chair, dressed in a suit stolen from the wardrobe of the owner of the house, whose plump body lay in front of him on the table.

The vampire smiled, raised a glass full of blood to his lips and drank. Finishing it in one gulp, the youngling smiled. _Ah, how great is it to have power._

A small drop of consience hit him, but was immediately countered by the raging megalomania in his mind.

 _I am a vampire, and gifted with this power, I'm beyond mortal. Its just befitting that I prey on weaker beings. Though I must prepare to leave soon, lest the police find me..._

He grinned. There was still a stock of pretty maids hiding in the basement. He would have to chase them out...maybe feast on not just their bodies-

BANG.

The vampire's thoughts was cut off as a ghoul smashed through the doors of the room, knocking the corpse off the table and onto him, knocking over his chair and dumping all three bodies onto the floor.

"Arrrghh!" With a yell of shock, the undead creature pushed the bodies of him, and stood up to see a female at the door.

His eyes widened as he recognised the figure - and the chunk of machinery that ringed her.

Moments later, twelve 152mm high explosive shells met his face, and the room exploded.

* * *

Roma watched the vampire attempt to recover from the blast, smoke from her guns filling the room, which was now completely wrecked.

Remarkable. Even after a full, point blank barrage from her secondary battery, the creature was still alive. Then again, Iscariot wouldn't have called her in if this pest wasn't so troublesome.

She raised her hands, and her crewmen fired her anti-aircraft batteries. Hundreds of cannon rounds and shrapnel struck her target, causing him to squirm and shake as the damage mounted up.

But it was not enough, for the creature, even under the hail of fire, he made a break for it, jumping through the window with his enhanced strength.

Roma went over to the window, watching her target flee, his figure fast disappearing into the distance.

How idiotic. Now, with the constrains of space gone, she was free to use her main cannons without hurting herself.

Besides, one cannot run from a battleship.

She pointed her aft turret through the window, using rangefinders and a newly installed radar to mark him.

A fairy signalled to her that her 3rd gun was loaded with the 'special' shell. A bog-standard high explosive round, except that it had a chunk of blessed silver surrounding the explosive, recently designed and crafted by the Vatican.

She fired, and the cannon blast echoed across the countryside, waking a few of the town's inhabitants. The shell flew out of the barrel, spinning as it flew at her target like a supersonic javelin, piercing through the air.

Barely a second passed before it struck the vampire in the back, and detonated with the righteous fury of few thousand men. Its screams were drowned out by the sound of the explosion, and its figure was consumed by the flames.

Seeing the explosion pass, Roma climbed through the window, and walked at a brisk yet steady pace towards the site of the explosion. As she did, she pulled out a wooden stake from her side.

She reached her target, and looked down at the vampire's prone form. Surprisingly, its torso and head were still intact, but all its limbs had been blown off. Surrounded by charred ground, she could only hear a few gurgling noises from the undead creature.

Even so, it was still trying to regenerate its body, desperately clinging on to its unlife.

She kneeled down, and brought the stake high, the moon illuminating her and the wind blowing her clothes gently to the side. The stake swung down, and stabbed the vampire dead centre in its heart.

It made no struggle as it crumbled to ash.

Roma stood back up, and took in a deep breath, taking in the night air. She turned to leave, heading back for the manor.

And stopped as another figure walked up, clapping her gloved hands. The blonde newcomer wore a set of black priestly robes, with a pair of black, heavy boots, a cross swinging from her neck-

And a set of untidy bandages that covered her mouth, trailing in the wind.

"Bravo, Roma." Heinket spoke, a stony grin on her face. "Impressive work indeed, for your first mission."

Roma put a hand to her waist and bowed. "Thank you, Ms. Heinkel. Although I do believe that this isn't much compared to what you do almost daliy."

"No no, you misunderstand...I'm impressed with the _stealth_ you showed in tonight's operation. When one thinks of battleships...they think of a behemoth scything through the waters, demolishing everything in their way...but you sneaked in like an assassin, quickly removing the target, and barely making a noise other than a single cannon shot! Quick, and efficient...just what we need."

"I see. Thank you very much for the praise, again." The two women set off for the manor, walking side by side.

"I must admit, when the higher ups proposed this idea, I was...not vin favor of it. I thought, 'too loud, too flashy, not like us', but now, seeing you in action...I must apologise."

"There's no need for that." Roma replied, adjusting her glasses. For a while, there's was silence as they walked on. "So, how is the current situation? Regarding the supernatural front?"

"Hmph." Distaste flowed into Heinkel's voice. "To put it bluntly, we are spread thin. Too thin, in fact. I can't say much...but we have to deal with almost a hundred cases a day, across the globe. Supernatural creatures, sightings, exorcisms...Such a violent explosion in cases ever since the appearence of the Abyssals...you would think they are related. For the first time in my life, I feel thankful for Hellsing and the Protestants..."

"Hellsing?"

"Ah sorry, I forgot. You weren't briefed on them. To put it simply, they are the English version of us, bound to defend the United Kingdom."  
Heinkel sighed. "Where was I? Oh yes, but the most troubling thing is today's case. We have not seen a vampire with such powers ever since the Burning of London...already everyone is running like headless chickens, trying to figure out what's going on." She paused, before turning to Roma. "Enough about my side though. How goes _your_ war?"

"The fleet..." Roma began, "We are also in the same position as you, stretched thin to defend the Mediterranean. Good news is, we have finally found the location of a key Abyssal base, and an assault is currently being planned with the French and Germans. If all goes well the attack will begin in a week."

"I see. Such a terrible year, for us to be attacked by demons on land and from the sea, isn't it?" They reached the manor, where an Iscariot team had appeared, preparing for insertion.

"A car is arriving over there, so please follow me." At Heinkel's words, the two women headed for the town. "So," the warrior priest started, "recently the Pope made a statement about you 'shipgirls', calling all of you 'angels sent by God, to protect humanity from evil', what do you think about it?"

"I...for me, I see myself and my sister as...old warriors, given a chance to fight for humanity and our nations once more. Nothing more, nothing less." Roma replied.

"Ah, I see." A grin reappeared on Heinkel's damaged face. "Don't mind me, but do you believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?"

"I don't really have a faith...although Littorio does believe in Him, and she's been asking me to attend church for awhile."

"Ah." Heinkel smiled, and they walked on in silence.

"Actually...I'm curious. How did the Vatican get the Italian Navy to work with them?" Roma asked.

"Huh." Heinkel frowned. "Actually...this is more of Iscariot's project, just only receiving approval from the Pope. If you want to know...let's just say your Minister Of Defense has some...things from his younger days he does not want to reveal."

"So...Blackmail." Roma stopped for a moment, staring at Heinkel.

The latter made a sad smile. "I apologise. We never claimed to be holy men, just in the service of God to protect his Children."

"Oh. Okay." The both of them made the final leg of their trip in silence, reaching the prepared car.

"Well," Heinkel raised a hand, "I believe it's time for us to part. Hopefully we will see each other again. Goodnight, and may God be with you."

"Thank you, and good night to you too, Ms. Heinkel."


	2. Chapter 2 - Integra

****Chapter 2 - Integra****

* * *

Inside her office, Sir Integra Hellsing looked down at the file laid in front of her desk, before releasing a long sigh, sending smoke to come out of her cigar.

"Master?" The voice of her shadow spoke, her two red eyes glinting in the moonlight. "You are still unhappy about...the _arrangement_ , aren't you?"

Closing her one eye, the head of the Hellsing Organisation replied, "Of course I am, Seras."

Silence persisted for a few moments as Integra thought back to the previous meeting with the Round Table, and began to fume silently. The explosive rise in...supernatural occurances and encounters had prompted her to call for the Round Table, asking the group of old scoundrels for a raise to her office's budget...

And the imbeciles, not only had they completely rejected her requests, but instead, simply offered to loan Hellsing the use of two 'shipgirls' from the Royal Navy, as a form of 'appeasement'.

She briefly recalled having to restrain breaking a pencil in half. While Hellsing was lacking the manpower to face the new threats, they also had a hundred more concerns, such as trying to keep the threat of the supernatural out of the public's eye, or trying to actually find out what their new adversaries were, or devising newer weapons to due with them.

Not increasing the budget was certainly not helping!

She bit on her cigar in an attempt to contain her irritation, trying to calm herself down. Then again, money was still a problem for the United Kingdom, what with the rebuilding of London and the appearence of those thrice-damned Abyssals...

Still, last she heard, the tide of the war had began to turn against those monsters, so why couldn't they even spare a single bloody penny?

Anyways...this was the hand she was dealt with...hence she would just have to do with what she had.

Finally able to unclench her fist, she turned back to the file and reopened it. It contained the personnel reports for two of the 'shipgirls', the ones that were assigned to Hellsing for an 'indefinite period of time'.

Integra recalled the first time she and her staff had read the files - both Seras and her were re-reading the contents for the tenth, refusing to believe their contents, while Pip Benedotte was collapsing in the loudest roar of laughter one could ever make.

The first document was about the first assignee, Warspite. The 'reincarnation' of the Grand Old Lady, she had performed well in the Abyssal war, according to the list of accolades she had earned.

But her actions outside of battle were anything but grand. As it turned out, being the face of the Royal Navy during the most destructive war in history tended to make one a very...outspoken person. And outspoken was Warspite, having made numerous contreversial and derogatory remarks about her fellow shipgirls in Europe.

Recently, a short assignment to Brest had caused her to end up in a brawl with quite a few German cruisers also posted there, and the report mentioned that she was caught on camera screeching curses 'that would make any Frenchman blush'.

Flipping the papers, Integra, with a slight headache, began to read the second personnel flie. It was about Illustrious, and like Warspite, had a decent set of accolades.

However, Illustrious had an obsession with the concept of armor for warships, and spent a large percentage of her allowance and free time experimenting with materials in order to create, in her own words, 'the most resilent piece of armor plating'. After a series of highly dangerous and unauthorised armor tests, it had culminated in her room at Dover consumed in a explosion after she failed to properly create a beaker of dioxygen difluoride.

Reading those files for the umpteen time, Integra could not help but feel that their assignment to Hellsing was just a replacement for some punishment detail - which irritated her to no end.

Not to mention the problems of having to use warships in Hellsing's operations - any attempt to cover up their involvement was definitely going to be a pain and a half. Especially when loud explosions of any sort was going to attract attention...

Still...the problem of the recent discoveries and cases meant they had to bring in some heavier firepower sooner or later, and perhaps with the shipgirls, they would not need to expend resources on deploying armored units...

Integra thought for a moment, before calling out, "Mr. Bernadotte, how confident are you on handling those 'shipgirls'?"

From the left wall of the room, the top half of Pip Bernadotte's body emerged with a sucking sound. "Well, if I could twist one british lady round my finger, I think I could twist another two," The Frenchman spoke with a sultry french accent.

A aura of hostility appeared around his two female coworkers. "That was a serious question, Mr. Bernadotte." Integra spoke, narrowing her eyes.

"Well then," Pip said, dropping the sultry accent. "To me...they are just, well, other soldiers. I don't have a problem with dealing with them. And I think if anything goes wrong, I can probably handle it."

"Good." Integra replied, taking the cigar out of her mouth. "Now, I think we should prepare for our new recruits, who should be arriving..." The phone rang, interrupting her mid-sentence. "...now."


	3. Chapter 3 - Warspite

**Chapter 3 - Warspite**

* * *

Warspite, (former) Grand Old Lady of the Royal Navy, a battleship sworn to the Crown, receiver of many accolades and reincarnated veteran, did not like her current situation.

She was currently stuck at the back of an unmarked car, sitting right next to Illustrious, her fellow miscreant, while two men dressed in black suits sat at the front, one of them driving the car to its current destination, some location meant for her 'punishment detail'.

She had briefly wondered about the sort of thing the 'good' Admiral had planned for her at that place. Would she have to discipline younger trainees? Was she going to be subjected to some experiments that the science division was busy on? Or was she just going to be left alone to stew?

She ground her teeth in frustration as she thought of the possibilities. _Whatever, it wasn't my fault in the first place. It was the simpering heavy cruiser that chose to throw her beer mug after I called out on Bismarck's performance in the first place, why am I being punished just because I chose to defend myself from those stupid krauts?_ Continuing to grouch and grumble, she shifted heavily in her seat.

A chord of clicking tongues came from Illustrious, a hint of disapproval underneath. "My dear Warspite, could you please not keep shifting in your seat? It's uncomfortable feeling your constant trashing about." The small, bespectacled carrier, barely reaching up to Warspite's shoulders, nonchalantly reading off her clipboard.

Warspite gave her the evil eye in response, snapping like a wounded beast. "You keep to your calculations, Illustrious, and don't bother me."

"As the Americans would say, I have all the liberty to complain about your actions, Warspite, and I intend to continue to do so until you concede." Illustrious adjusted her glasses, continuing to keep her eyes directed at her clipboard.

"What?" The battleship pushed herself upright, glaring at Illustrious. "Have you ever considered not being a constant irritant for once?"

"And have you considered not being the same to our foreign comrades?" Illustrious finally trained her pair of eyes on Warspite, the glassy orbs filled with the urge to roll.

As the two shipgirls glared at each other for a few moments, Warspite finally relented and returned to her sulking position. "Well, krauts don't deserve any respect..." She murmured to herself.

Several minutes passed before the car came to a stop.

"Ladies, we are at our destination." One of the agents informed the shipgirls.

For the first time since she got on the car, Warspite looked out of the window. The car was now in front of a pair of metal gates, where a massive Victorian mansion waited behind. Definitely not a military base.

 _Where are we?_ She thought, curiosity stamping out her grumpiness. A pair of guards armed with assault rifles and other weaponry, with a strange badge attached to their chest, walked up to the car, speaking to the agents in whispers.

 _This has to be somewhere important, or there wouldn't be guard holding such equipment here...perhaps we are sent as honor guard for some bigwig?_ At the last thought, her grouchiness returned.

The guards retreated, and the double gates swung inwards. The car drove past it, heading for the mansion.

* * *

Warspite and Illustrious waited with their luggage in a plain, red-carpeted room, with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling lighting the room. Illustrious still seemed oblivious to any occurrences, still checking her notes, while Warspite was still wondering about their circumstance, unconsciously adjusting the dress that covered her legs and the formal military coat that adorned her upper body.

Footsteps came from one of the corridors attached to the room, and both of them immediately turned their attention to it.

Two women emerged; the first was a silver-haired, middle-aged women with an eyepatch adorning her right eye while wearing a formal suit, while the latter was a younger woman wearing a tight-fitting yellow uniform that only emphasised her massive chest.

Both of them stopped, and the older one greeted them. "Good evening, Warspite and Illustrious. My name is Sir Integra Hellsing, and I'm the head of the Hellsing Organisation. We shall be handling your...ahem, 'punishment detail'."

"Since none of you have had this explained to you, let me do so now. The Hellsing Organisation is a secret organisation, operating outside of the traditional military hierachy and handled directly by the Crown. The reason for this is because of our mission - to investigate and exterminate any supernatural forces attacking the nation of Britain."

She stepped back, waiting for the two shipgirls to digest the information, who were acting like a deer caught in headlights.

"When you mention supernatural threats, I believe you aren't talking about the Abyssals, am I right?" Illustrious regained her senses first.

"Indeed, yes, glad that you have grasped that easily, for it makes our job here easier," Sir Integra answered. "When we talk of supernatural threats, we talk about the myths and legends of monsters and creatures ages old...or rather, vampires, more commonly."

"Vampires..." Warspite pondered for a little. _It might be true..._ "How about some proof before we begin?"

"Very well. Seras, if you may." The leader of the Hellsing Organisation stepped to the side, revealing her companion. The younger woman stepped forward, breathing in heavily. Suddenly, her eyes turned red, and her right arm exploded into many bloody red tendrils.

Both shipgirls jolted backwards at the show of power, while Sir Integra simply pointed at her companion. "This, is a vampire. Vampires have increased strength, speed, resilience and a whole other set of powers, alongside their curse to feed upon the blood of the living. You may or may not have read the legends, but this is all you really need to understand them. Of course, we at Hellsing also do consider other threats of the supernatural, but insofar, vampires have been our greatest and largest foe."

"Before I continue, do either of you have any questions to ask?"

Warspite swallowed. "Yes. Why were we sent here as 'punishment detail'?"

A small chuckle came from the female knight's grizzled face. "Well, it _is_ a punishment, even if you may feel that it is undeserved, Warspite." At this statement, a feeling of irritation began to gnaw at the battleship's bones, a sense of injustice spreading through her body. "But I digress. The reason for your recruitment, was that Hellsing had seen a sudden upsurge in supernatural activity, and the Royal Navy had volunteered the both of you when we sent a request for reinforcments to the Crown. It just so happened that both of you just happened to have...a convenient reason for your transfer and disappearence."

"And how long will this deployment last?" Warspite asked.

"For the moment, indefinitely. You will be stationed here, in this manor. You are allowed to keep speaking with your old comrades, but you are not allowed to talk about Hellsing nor any of your operations. Any other questions?"

Silence persisted for awhile. "Good. If so, let me talk about your upcoming operation. This may seem sudden, but given recent developments, we have to speed up things."

"Huh?" _That fast?_ Despite getting caught off guard, both of them reacted quickly to the news.

"We were investigating a town that has had several cases of child disappearences, which was alerted to us when investigators found signs of supernatural activity. Only a few hours ago, one of our scout units had gone dark, and hence we are going to deploy the both of you, given how the events do not seem like normal vampire assaults. Are the both of you ready?"

Both shipgirls looked at each other and swallowed. "Yes," they replied one after another.

"Good. Firstly, you will need to follow Seras here to the armory," Sir Integra pointed to the vampire, who had deactivated her power, "so that we can outfit you with the proper anti-vampire munitions. You may leave your items here, for I will have the household staff transport them to your respective rooms. Any other questions?"

"No si- I mean, ma,am." Warspite replied, a chill of excitement flowing down her back.

"Good. Well, farewell, and good hunting." The vampire hunter turned her back and walked out of the room, leaving them with the vampiress.


	4. Chapter 4 - Illustrious

**Chapter 4 - Illustrious**

* * *

Trampling through the red-carpeted corridors of the manor, silence persisted between the trio of supernatural humanoids.

Illustrious would have continued it, but curiosity got the better of her scientist side. "What are the 'anti-vampire munitions' that...um...Sir Hellsing just mentioned...Miss Seras?"

"Oh." The vampire turned her around to look at Illustrious, while continuing to walk forward. "From what the expert says...they are just the 'normal' ammunition that you shipgirls use, just with some blessed silver added to the shell tips or the shrapnel. After all, blessed silver is the only weapons that can truly wound vampires." A clear, slightly high-pitched sound came out of her mouth.

"Only 'blessed silver?' Even if vampires had enhanced strength or resilience, would they also die to having enough force applied to their bodies?" Illustrious asked, a confused expression forming behind her glasses.

"Oh, that works too. The problem is that even the basic of all vampires are just that _resilient_ , able to withstand a lot of firepower short of a naval cannon. Add to that the various ridiculous abilities they can acquire and the fact that you can't bring a naval cannon any where you like, you have a really big problem." Seras clarified.

"I...see." Illustrious answered. The talk of vampire resilience though got her even more interested. "How do you attain that much strength though? What exactly makes you that strong?"

"...well, its actually a combination of high resilience and powerful regenerative abilities - hang on, are you asking this for your 'research' project?"

Illustrious replied with a deadpan, undeterred, "Yes."

"...well, I think this isn't the proper place to discuss this here...you have to ask the scientists on how it works."

"I see." For the remainder of the trip, silence persisted.

Down they went down a staircase, and reached a set of heavily armored double doors. A tap on a access panel installed next to the doors, and they slid open, revealing something similar to what the shipgirls had seen at their bases - shipgirl resupply docks, with a tall male figure waiting inside.

The male figure turned around, revealing his features; he was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a smirk with a cigarette clamped firmly between his lips, and a messy combination of a military coat and civilian clothing, with a scarf around his neck. Seeing Seras and the shipgirls, his smirk grew even wider, and he made a small wave.

"Yo, Seras! About time you brought down our guests." The newcomer spoke with a thick French accent.

"Wait, you have one of those Frenchies working here?" Warspite reacted with surprise when she heard the man speak.

"Well well, and you must be our cute little racist, Warspite!" Ignoring Warspite's shocked and scandalized expression, the man walked over and offered his hand in greeting. "Pleased to meet you too, the name's Pip Bernadotte, and I shall be your commanding officer for tonight."

Even Illustrious, normally unflappable, blinked her eyes at Mr. Bernadotte's announcement. "That's all fine and good, but why would a French person be working with a secret British organisation, not to mention being one of its commanding officers?"

"Hmmm...its a long story, perhaps its best that I explain it at a different time, when we aren't rushed like now! Anyways, I suggest you get yourselves prepared while I begin the briefing."

The shipgirls settled into the shipgirl resupply docks - obviously Hellsing had procured them from the Royal Navy; they needed those if they wanted to operate shipgirls. They comprised of a seat for the shipgirl herself, with various cranes and ammunition stockpiles scattered on the 'dock' that ringed around the ship. Completing the image was a bunch of fairies flying about, eager to begin their jobs.

As both shipgirls settled down, they summoned their rigging, the combination of magic and decades-old technology appearing around their uniforms. With that, the fairies got to work - a whirring aound came from the shipgirl docks as the fairies readjusted them to fit their masters. Cranes began spinning up their ropes, and ammunition crates were slowly and carefully unwrapped, before gently loading them into ports.

"So, how long will it take, _mademoiselles_?" The Frenchman asked with an attempt to sound gentlemanly.

"Around 15 minutes; this is just a simple reloading exercise." Illustrious answered. Shipgirls often only had their ammunition loaded just before missions, so as to prevent misuse - which was really important given their personalities and attitudes.

"15 minutes, eh? Well, let me start with the briefing then." As Mr. Bernadotte finished speaking, a projector screen descended behind him, and it lit up with the image of a map. The map displayed a aerial view of a town and the countryside around it, with the actual town situated in the centre, a forest to its south-west, and fields on the surrounding side.

"I'm sure that Miss. Integra has given you some information on what happened, but let me go into further detail. Basically, we had several cases of missing children from this very town, and they disappeared in very...strange ways. So, Hellsing came along to investigate, and suddenly, the group investigating the forest suddenly vanished."

"Now, we are sending you in because, not only to allow you to understand how we operate, but because this...is not the work of a normal vampire." The Frenchman paused for a moment, letting the implications of his statement sink into the shipgirls. "Vampires usually don't really care about the evidence they leave behind, and by all that is holy do they leave a _mess._ Blood all over the place, guts splattered on the wall...you get the idea."

"The thing is that, the past few days we have no seen anything like that, so, assuming the worst, this isn't the work of a newborn vampire who is busy indulging in his newfound demonic powers - this bastard has an agenda on his mind, and is probably prepared for someone bringing the hammer on his head. Even then, Seras could probably wipe the floor with his face, but its best she has backup as well - which you two come in."

"So, here's what we will be doing," Mr. Bernadotte snapped his fingers, and the screen zoomed into the forest. "We will be doing a two pronged attack to flush the bastard out - upon arrival, we will split up into two groups - me and Seras will enter the forest from the west, while both of you shall be entering from the east - although it will be more Warspite doing the assault while Illustrious will be scouting or scanning the area with your planes. Any questions?"

Illustrious raised her hand. "You will be also participating in the assault? Are you another vampire?"

Mr. Bernadotte shook his head. "No...I'm something... _less_ , you could say. Actually, I better get prepared myself..."

Suddenly, the lower half of the Frenchman's body turned into the same crimson shape that Seras had displayed earlier, and melted into the wall of the manor. Moments later, he reappeared behind Seras, and the vampiress raised her right arm, which melted into crimson tendrils. Those tendrils grabbed hold of Mr. Bernadotte's body, and dragged him off the walls and _into_ Seras' body, and the both of them 'melted' together.

The two shipgirls looked upon the scene with dumbstruck silence.

"Ah, that's much more comfortable." He looked at his watch. "As it turns out, we have some more time! So, is there anything you wish to talk about?"

"Erm..." Warspite thought to herself. "Perhaps you would both introduce yourselves more thoroughly?"

Seras took the initiative. "I used to be part of the police. Then one day, me and my squad tried to arrest a vampire, and the bloody thing murdered me and everyone else. I survived thanks to Hellsing, and got turned into a vampire for my trouble. Fast forward a few years...and here we are."

"As for me..." Mr. Bernadotte spoke, "I used to be the leader of a...'mercenary outfit', known as the Wild Geese. You can probably find me and my men's exploits on the internet if you dig hard enough. Anyway, after a bad incident Hellsing hired me and my men as contractors. Then, well, 'something' happened, and I lost my life, Seras managed to keep me alive with her vampire powers, and like she said, here we are."

"Those are rather colourful backstories." Illustrious remarked.

"Almost as colourful as yours! I did some research on your...previous selves before we met, and now that I met both of you, suddenly the way you acted according to your files makes a lot of sense." Mr. Bernadotte took out a cigarette, but it disappeared with a flick of Seras' finger, who then glared at him.

"So...would you mind telling me more about your powers? Perhaps you would know more?" Illustrious asked.

A few metres away, Warspite sighed at her questioning, plopping her face into her hands, while the two Hellsing operatives exchanged bemused glances.


	5. Chapter 5 - Assault

**Chapter 5 - Assault**

* * *

Under a tranquil, starry sky, an armored personnel carrier stopped right outside a temporary command post, a ring of tents set up right beside the forest of note.

As Pip Bernadotte and the two shipgirls stepped off the back of the APC, a group of men emerged from the tents. Pip met them first - with a glowing crimson string attaching his back to Seras - and saluted them.

The soldiers saluted back, and the lead man gave his report. "Good evening, sir. As per your orders, we have set up a perimeter around the fortress with landmines, as well as some scanning spots. If the vampire gets out of this place, you are going to hear him, and that's a guarantee."

"Oh, Sergeant? I hope the vampire doesn't do that - it would make the hunt much less exciting." The Frenchman smirked, and the soldiers shared a chuckle. "Nevertheless, good job. If you don't mind, the two ladies behind me need to come off here now, so don't make a fuss."

"Of course, sir. Happy hunting." Pip turned around and faced the two shipgirls."

"As per the plan, you are going to wait here until our signal. So, I suggest both of you talk with some of the men here - most likely you will be working with some of them in future."

Warspite replied with a "Understood." while Illustrious simply nodded. Pip got back into the APC, and it drove off, to the other location.

The Sergeant greeted them with another salute. "I believe you both are Warspite and Illustrious, are you not?"

"I'm Warspite, and she's Illustrious." Warspite pointed to herself and Illustrious.

"A pleasure to meet you both - its not everyday you get to see the Valkyries of our nations in the flesh." Warspite blushed slightly at the faint praise from the soldier, who was wearing a smile on his shaven face. "My name's Sergeant Thomas, formerly SBS. As what the commander said, I shall be directing all the sensory data we gather around the forest - although we have nothing about the interior itself, though, but I believe that's your problem."

They entered the small camp. "Other than that, we don't really have much to do - so do you want to sit down and have a talk with some of us soldiers, before your operation starts?"

Warspite shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to refuse. I will need to prepare myself for land combat."

"Oh well, how about you, Illustrious?" The armoured carrier simply shook here head. "Well, bloody hell, I guess we will just have to find something else to do."

"I don't think so - I believe you are going to get a performance already." Warspite readjusted her plume of dark red hair, and stretched her hands out. "I do suggest you step back."

The soldiers surrounding them stepped back, and around the two shipgirls, a soft white glow surrounded them as they summoned their rigging from a different dimension. Warspite's 4 turrets of miniaturized 15-inch cannons rotated dramatically as they appeared, and her gunners readied their weapons.

As for Illustrious, she retrieved her weapon - an English Longbow - and took out an arrow from a quiver attached to her side. Cocking the arrow and drawing the bow back with grace, she pointed the ancient weapon into the sky, and released. The arrow shot out, before glowing and seperating into a squadron of fighters - 5 miniature Seafires with their characteristic round wings, rising and banking around the two shipgirls.

At the impromptu performance, the soldiers began to 'ooh' and 'aah', with the Sergeant and more hardened ones simply giving a round of polite applause.

 _"Hello, hello, are you two ready?"_ From the two shipgirls' radios came the accented voice of their commander.

"Yes." "Aye." Both shipgirls replied in unison.

"Alright. Well, let's begin."

Warspite and Illustrious walked up to the forest's edge, the former resisting the urge to 'slide' along the ground like she would do on the ocean. The battleship also took the time to observe the forest itself - tree trunks were planted at regular intervals away from each other, with little foliage to block their vision.

As she observed the forest, the buzz of Illustrious' fighters reached her ears as they flew above her head.

The two shipgirls looked at each other, and they nodded. Getting the unspoken signal, Warspite charged into the forest.

* * *

Seras jumped onto another tree for what seemed to be the umpteen time. As her right arm unraveled into mutiple tendrils to grab the tree's trunk, she found herself wondering how long it would take to flush out the monster.

A uneasy feeling in her that had been growing for the past hour increased yet more. _I have not been able to sense any 'vampiric' presences around me, at all even after entering this forest. This can't be - either the fugitive is not a vampire, or he can conceal himself very, very well.  
_  
She stopped at her perch instead of advancing further, and spoke into her mic. "Have you found anything yet, Warspite?"

 _"Nothing. How far can such a troublesome creature hide?"_ Sounds of discontent came across the airwaves.

"How about you, Illustrious? See anything yet?"

 _"My planes have spotted nothing of note so far."  
_  
"Damn." Seras dropped from the tree, landing on the ground with practised grace and superhuman ability. "Mr. Bernadotte, do you have any clue yourself?"

The Frenchman emerged from her arm, holding a tablet in his hand. "Well, in fact, between Little Ms. Racist and you, we have almost covered the entire forest. The target could be continously avoiding us, or have some strange power we haven't encountered in the past, being able to keep dodging us like that."

"Concealment? Teleportation?" Seras threw out suggestions.

"Anything's possible. Remember our old friend the Nazi cat-boy, who had some sort of quantum immortality power? Or the fucker that killed the Wild Geese with her fucking illusions? I'm willing to bet that this sucker we are chasing has something similar."

"Urgh." Seras recalled the one who had been responsible for her Master's disappearance with distaste.

"Yes. Pip walked ahead as he thought. "So, how shall we flush him out - WHOA!"

Suddenly, Pip Bernadotte disappeared downwards with a yell.

"Mr. Bernadotte! Are you alrigh-" Seras ran over, only to see a patch of grass where her friend was.

"Huh." Drawing out her power, her eyes flashed red. Almost instantaneously the fake grass disappeared, revealing a groaning Pip who was muttering a series of curses in French. "Ow...thought that being a thrall would at least remove the pain..."

Seras jumped down, but not before telling Warspite to head to her location. Landing beside her commanding officer, she pulled him back into her body, before looking around.

A room was attached to the hole, filled with the light moonlight from above. Entering it, the vampiress surveyed it with her vampire-enhanced vision, and -

-found some children sliently lying on the floor, their tiny bodies barely covered with fabric.

" _Mon dieu._ " whispered Pip, as Seras checked on their lifeforce.

"They're still alive - so this must be the vampire's den -" Seras began, but was cut off as a sight appeared right in front of her.

A tiny humanoid figure, naked with dragonfly wings on its back, and a pair of alien, bug-like eyes, with its skin painted a crystal blue.

As she stared, the 'face' of the humanoid suddenly opened up _sideways_ , a pair of jaws inverted at a right angle, and it started screaming with an unholy shriek.

Seras staggered away, reeling, while the shrieking increased in volume as hundreds of similar beings appeared from other places.

Before the vampiress recovered, the hundreds of tiny beings rushed her, a chorus of terrible voices filling the night air.


	6. Chapter 6 - New Threats

**Chapter 6 - New Threats**

* * *

As Warspite rushed over to Pip and Seras' position, their shouting filled the airwaves, as if they were trying to fend off a hive of wasps they had stepped on.

Hearing this, she made haste. Drawing power from within, she strengthened her legs, adding power to them. Her next step hit the ground with a bang, and the sheer force of her push carved a hole around her point of impact, while she launched herself across the forest.

While she rushed forward with inhuman speed, her footsteps carving a line of holes into the ground, the buzz of aircraft engines signaled the arrival of Illustrious's air support.

Ahead of her marked the spot where the Hellsing Operatives were. Seeing the ground empty of anyone's presence, Warspite came to a halt, looking around, when out of the blue, the ground exploded, with Seras Victoria flying upwards like a shell fired from a cannon, a blood-red shield in the form of cone surrounding her.

Barely a moment passed after her sudden evacuation when a cloud of flickering lights poured from the hole, swarming the vampiress. It surrounded her like a tornado, a blizzard of blue and white.

Warspite stood there, dumbstruck. "What...are those?" Meanwhile, Seras attempted to fight off the swarm, a crimson blade bursting into existence and slicing through the swarm, which quickly seperated around the blade, avoiding any damage. It responded by crowding in further, blocking her from Warspite's vision.

As Seras struggled to stop the swarm from encircling hwr, Pip yelled into his radio. "What the hell are you standing there for?!"

Shaking out of her trance, Warspite replied with a "Got it!" and ran towards the fight. Opposite her, Illustrious's fighters came back for an attack run, having missed the two in their first pass.

 _A swarm of weird magical creatures? This should be easy to deal with..._ Stopping a few metres away, she yelled, "AA batteries, engage!"

A chorus of replies came from her crew, who swirveled and aimed their their guns at specific areas in the swarm, before firing in unison. As the rattling of machines guns mixed with the booming of cannons filled the air, hundreds of rounds and anti-air shells shot at the ever-changing swarm. Halfway through, some shells exploded into flak, filling any empty spaces with superheaded shrapnel. Meanwhile, the Seafires diving from the sky opened up with their cannons, adding to the deluge of fire targeted at the swarm.

With each rounds flying past the speed of sound, the swarm had no chance to react. Hundreds of the terrible creatures died as lead met their bodies violently, exploding like broken glass with unholy shrieks. Where the bullets flew, wounds were torn in the swarm, and Seras, taking the chance, swiped her shadow-arm through the weakest point, and jumped through, rolling away.

Their quarry lost, the swarm attempted to split and target both Warspite and Seras, but the Seafires came for yet another pass. Their guns blazing, they charged straight into the swarm itself, causing it to split and scatter under the hail of suppressive fire as well as attempting to duck away from the fighters.

The creatures hung in midair, trying to reorganise, but where continuously torn apart by Warspite's gunners, unceasingly laying down suppressive barrages, as she walked around the swarm, her rigging alight with the fury of hundred blazing barrels.

Suddenly, the entire swarm flew upwards, rising with a baleful shriek, before diving back to where they came.

As Warspite stood her ground, wary of the creatures, Pip Beradotte came crawling out of Seras's arm, stumbling to his feet while keeping an arm on his hat, heaving.

After a moment, the Frenchman shook his head and spat.

"What the _fuck_ was that?"

* * *

A few meters away from the site where the fight had taken place, a few tents had been pitched, set up by the other Hellsing Operatives who relocated there at Pip's orders.

The man himself was in the command tent, agonising over the problem of securing the children, as well as dealing with the new threats they were now facing.

"Sir." Sergeant Thomas entered the tent. "We have sent our report to HQ."

"Do they have anything on those creatures we just fought?" Pip asked, taking out a lighter and playing with it.

"Other than agreeing with you calling them 'fucking fairies', nothing else, sir."

"Thank you, Sergeant." Pip placed his lighter back in his pocket, leaning back onto his chair. "Do you have any ideas on dealing with those fuckers?"

The Sergeant ponders for a bit. "I'm not sure on how you beat supernatural creatures, sir. I thought that was your specialty."

Pip chuckles before sighing. "I could deal with them already, if not for the children stuck inside - just have the battleship blow the entire thing to kingdom come, and then have her companion and you guys shoot any stagglers that come out. Standard procedure for attacking and clearing out some tyrant's hiding bunker, like my old days."

"Bunker, huh?" The Sergeant tapped his bearded chin in thought. "I think I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"Sir, your girlfriend is a demon that can pull all kinds of tricks. So I suggest..."

Listening to his XO's idea, Pip's smile widened.

"Excellent! I guess we will do that."

* * *

"Are you ready, Seras?"

"Yes, Mr. Bernadotte."

Around her previous point of escape, a square 5m long on each side had been marked. Around it, Hellsing soldiers surrounded it, their weapons pointing into the air, while Warspite waited at a corner. Above the entire site, Illustrious's entire air complement waited, circling almost lazily.

Seras checked her progress again. Underneath the marked area, she had extended her shadow arms until they encompassed the entire zone. Right now, all she needed was the signal.

"Begin!" Pip yelled, and the vampiress pulled upwards, yelling wih the strain. The entire patch of ground shook, and like a spade, it was lifted off the ground. To quickly relive herself of the load, Seras threw the entire thing backwards, and it landed with an earth-shaking crash.

Before the ground returned to where it came from, Warspite ran, and leaped into the wide open cavern. Inside, a swarm of the creatures had already gathered, and she landed within them, crushing some under her feet, as her gunners opened fire. With the battleship within their target, the fighters above banked and dived, like falcons after prey.

In the face of such a sudden, massive assault, the swarm of fairies, scattered, broken, shrieking with what could be called fear. With no way to fight back, many of them rose, attempting to evade the deadly fire of the anti-air batteries and the Seafires. Most however shattered as either flak, cannon rounds or a plane's wings slashed through their bodies.

And as they rose above the surface, they exposed themselves to the waiting soldiers.

"Visual contact with supernatural entity!"

"Fire!"

Around the escaping swarm, muzzles flashed as soldiers opened up with their assault rifles, the heavy rat-a-tat-tat of the guns echoing through the forest. Bullets sliced through the swarm, taking down multiple fae with each round as each soldier held down their triggers mercilessly.

The swarm wailed again, and a desperate attempt to counterattack was formed. A group of fairies gathered, and in a light of blue, shot like a missile at the nearest soldier, but found themselves deflected by a crimson shield that sprouted at the last moment. They bounced off pitifully, before a series of rounds obliterated them.

Below, in the cavern, as more and more of them were cut down by a relentless barrage, the swarm threw themselves at Warspite and her gunners in one final, desperate attack. But their counterparts were ready and waiting. Fighting raged all over Warspite's rigging, as fairy sailors dispelled their supernatural counterparts with accurate small-arms fire as well by swinging bats and an assortment of improvised melee weapons into their faces. Fierce but undaunting, they beat back the tide of blue, suffering minimal casualties

As their fellow beings continued to shatter, the gestalt of fae made a decision. With one final, baleful wail, the entire swarm formed into one, and shot off into the moonlit night sky, leaving their pursuers and the children behind.

* * *

Sir Integra sat alone in her office, studying a few reports that had come in from the field. A antique clock on her desk clicked, signalling the witching hour, as a cigar lay smoldering on an ornate glass ashtray.

The reports were very interesting to speak. It was not a vampire lusting after some fresh blood, but the work of some malevolent magical creatures, returning to life from the musty tomes of the past that told tales of their misdeeds. The report she was currently reading was composed by one of Hellsing's in-house experts, a series of theories posed by the professor on the nature, type and intentions of the faerie creatures.

She put it aside, and picked up one of the pictures that came along with the report - a bag full of the remains of those same fairies after they had been felled by lead. They looked like some sort of broken blue crystal, with only musings on what they truly were as the scientists were only beginning to analyze it.

Integra flipped to another photo; a still from a video camera, showing the full image of one of the fairies. Captured in that frame, it looked comical rather than terrifying, drawing a snort from her. Gazing at it for a few more seconds, she then put it down, before returning all the photos and reports back to the folder they had came in.

Grabbing her half-finished cigar, she placed it back in her mouth before getting off her seat and walking to the large window behind her. As she looked over the expanse of the Hellsing estate, she sucked in, and savored the taste of the flavoured tobacco in the cigar, tucking her hands in her pockets as she did so.

For a few minutes, she stood there, simply savoring her privileges as family and organisation head.

 _Riiiinnnnggggg..._ The phone on her desk rang, and she stepped back, picking it up with her right hand. "This is Sir Hellsing. You are late."

"Admiral Thompson. My apologies for the delay, the strategy meeting for another operation overextended quite a bit. I assume you are happy with the performance of our girls, judging from your tone?"

"Well..." Integra paused for a moment, thinking what to say next. "The creature - or rather, _creatures_ , - that we were facing this time was not what we usually face, and frankly I din't get to see the full extent of their abilities..."

Her counterpart on the phone remained silent.

"...but all things considered, they worked out fine. Even if I dread to see what problems they could inflict on Hellsing in the future, I am happy with their performance."

The Admiral continued his silence, before resuming in a stoic tone. "Thank you. I'm sorry that I had to inflict them on you though, especially Warspite...the girl really needs to learn something -"

"Please do not inflict your concerns for any of your subordinates on me, Admiral. Hellsing is a military organisation, not a place where people go for counselling. In any case, the Round Table has made its decision clear, what's done is done, and from now on, we will just have to continue working with each other."

"Very well then. In any case, the additional support staff will be arriving at your estate tomorrow, with the success of your operation today. Good night."

"Good night." The line went dead, and Integra sat back in her seat. She grabbed the report on how the rescued children would be treated and returned to their families, but thought better of it and lightly threw it back onto the table. Her mind wanted sleep, and her iron will faltered. Getting up, she walked to her bedroom.

She thought back to the two shipgirls that she was now going to deal with. _Hopefully, they aren't going to be as troublesome as Alucard..._

That's said, where's in bloody hell is the Count?

* * *

 **End Of Arc 1**


End file.
